ocPortal Tutorial: Comcode and the attachment system

Written by Chris Graham, ocProducts

Comcode is the ocPortal "mark-up language". Using Comcode you can add data to your website with minimal effort, but with maximum control: unlike HTML, you do not need to use any complex syntax unless you wish to create special formatting effects, or embed dynamic elements. Comcode does a great deal of work to make things so easy for you - behind a simple, intuitive, and easy to use set of syntaxes is a very sophisticated 'parsing' (parsing is the name for the technique of conversion of one language into a much more 'finicky' lower level language, HTML in this case) system. Comcode adds a lot of power that HTML cannot itself provide; for example, with Comcode you can easily add an automatically generated table of contents, or draw on the power from any of our pre-designed dynamic 'blocks' (blocks are described in our 'Advanced Pages of information (via Comcode)' tutorial).

Many fields in ocPortal support Comcode, and 'Comcode pages' may be used to layout pages and menus of your site without having to do complex template editing, and without needing to use a restrictive layout editor. The front pages and menus of ocPortal are, by default, Comcode pages.

Those familiar with forum systems may see that Comcode is similar to BBCode in some respects.

Table of contents

ocPortal Tutorial: Comcode and the attachment system

Comcode Security

A great deal of emphasis is placed on making sure Comcode is secure, as it is available to all members of an ocPortal website. There is a specific permission, 'allow insecure Comcode', and another 'allow nuisance Comcode': we recommend that these are left turned off except for staff.
Allowing members to post HTML (via the HTML tag, covered under 'insecure Comcode') absolutely allows members to gather information that they can use to hijack your website (it is called an XSS vulnerability, and usually involves Javascript code).
There are additional mechanisms in Comcode to aid security, such as ones to stop Javascript-powered URLs, and ones to stop people trying to using HTML entities to bypass Javascript filtering.

Syntax

Comcode is written and laid out as plain-text. Within this plain text certain syntaxes can be used to make changes or additions:

emoticon codes may be used
ocPortal symbols may be used, such as {$USERNAME} to display the username of the current user
certain shortcuts may be used, such as (c) for ©
Comcode tags may be used to change content, such as [b]text[/b] to make some text bold
Comcode tags may be used to add content, such as [block]main_feedback[/block] to add a dynamic comments box
horizontal lines may be added by placing a few "-"'s on their own line
table syntax
HTML style entities can be use to place special characters inside the text
member profile links can be placed by typing {{username-goes-here}}, or {{?username-goes-here}} to show extra details when the mouse is hovered over (OCF only)
CEDI page-links can be placed by typing [[pagename-goes-here]], or [[pagename-goes-here#anchor]]
A special list syntax may be used to write lists that look close to how they are displayed (example follows)

Code


 - this is a first list element
  - this is beneath the first list element
 - this is a second list element

The following is also done automatically:

Hyperlinks may be written directly, and are automatically detected
Long text is forcibly word-wrapped if it would break layout

There is also an XML version of Comcode, which is described in further detail in the 'Advanced Comcode' tutorial.

WYSIWYG

ocPortal provides a WYSIWYG editor for those who would rather not type Comcode directly. You may mix in raw Comcode with the normal formatted text of the WYSIWYG editor if you wish; this is necessary if you need to insert things that don't have a regular appearance, such as blocks.

All members may use the WYSIWYG editor but it will be heavily filtered if they do not have 'dangerous Comcode' permission.
The HTML produced by the WYSIWYG editor is automatically converted back into Comcode, and it is possible that some of the more advanced settings of the WYSWIYG editor could be lost during that process. Therefore the WYSIWYG editor should not be relied on to create particulary complex pages, but rather, just to perform basic formatting that you would rather not write by manually typing Comcode tags.

Emoticons

The following emoticons are currently in the system:

Code	Image
:constipated:
:upsidedown:
:christmas:
:puppyeyes:
:depressed:
:rolleyes:
:offtopic:
:whistle:
:shutup:
:hippie:
:thumbs:
:rockon:
:guitar:
:cyborg:
:ninja2:
:sinner:
:devil:
:shake:
:party:
:sarcy:
:ninja:
:drool:
:sick:
:king:
:nerd:
:hand:
:cool:
:dry:
:wub:
:zzz:
:lol:
:nod:
:'(
O_o
(K)
^_^
:)
:@
:S
:$
;)
:P
:D
:o
:\|
:(

These are as provided by your forum driver, and most forums, including OCF (our own forum) allow them to be changed freely.

Table syntax

Table syntax is written as in the following examples…

Code


{| This is the table summary
! Header 1, row 1
! Header 2, row 1
|-
| Cell 1, row 1
| Cell 2, row 1
|-
| Cell 1, row 2
| Cell 2, row 2
|}

or in reduced form,

Code


{| This is the table summary
! Header 1, row 1 !! Header 2, row 1
|-
| Cell 1, row 1 || Cell 2, row 1
|-
| Cell 1, row 2 || Cell 2, row 2
|}

List syntax

The example in action

To create a list, you just need to start typing elements of the list using the list syntax. A line that is in the first level of a list is identified by the line starting with " - ". Subsequent lines that have the same prefix are shown as subsequent items in the same list. If you wish to extend the list to a second level, just add the first line of the second level with two spaces before the hyphen, so that the line starts with " - "; of course, you should start a second level of a list somewhere within the first level. Your list may have as many levels as you like, just by adding extra spaces in the lines at a certain depth. Be careful to not jump from, for instance, a depth of 1 straight to a depth of 3, as this will result in a Comcode error. This all sounds more complex than it is, so I will give an example to show how in fact, it is really very easy to do:

Code


 - 1
 - 2
  - 2.1
   - 2.1.1
  - 2.2
 - 3
  - 3.1

See how simple it is: the number of spaces before the hyphen identifies the list level, the hyphen identifies it is a list, and then after a space (to make it look better when writing it) comes the actual line of the list.

Tag syntax

Tags are written as in a way similar to HTML, except using the "[]" brackets instead of the "<>" brackets, and a slightly more user-friendly notation.
All tags have an opening tag, written [tag], and a closing tag, written [/tag]. The text between the tags is either:

something the tags modify
an otherwise critical parameter for the tags; for example, for the 'block' tag, it is the name of the block

Tags may also take other parameters rather than the tag 'contents' (what the tag has 'embedded'). These are written in like as follows: [tag a="a-value" b="b-value"]contents[/tag], where 'a' and 'b' are merely examples of named parameters, of which there can be any number. Often tags have a special parameter that is of critical importance, that we name 'param'. A short-hand for writing:

Code


[tag param="value"]contents[/tag]

is writing:

Code


[tag="value"]contents[/tag]

This only applies to the 'param' parameter, and does not need to be used if you do not want to.
Another short-hand which Comcode supports, but we do not like, is missing out the " symbols. If there are more than one parameter, and any but the last one contains a space, this will not work.

If a tag is referenced that does not actually exist, then it won't be read as a tag: it'll just display as plain text.

If you need to include the " symbol inside a tag parameter, you can put it in as ". Also, if you need to literally display a tag without it being parsed, you may type [ for the opening bracket.

Tags and parameters

When only certain parameters are allowed they are shown as, param=option1|option2(|…) for brevity.
When a tag 'wraps' Comcode, it essentially adds on properties. For example:

Code


[b][i]text[/i][/b]

The 'text' is both emboldened and italicised.

A 'string' is just a length of text. That text may be a number written as text, or any other form of text.

Note that Comcode tags are designed very carefully to have different attributes. For tags where it makes no sense for certain syntaxes to be interpreted within the embedded contents of the tag, the syntaxes will not be interpreted. For example, the 'code' and 'html' tags naturally do not actually parse Comcode within them. For tags that would add their own blank lines (visually speaking) after them, blank lines in Comcode after them are skipped in order to allow the Comcode itself to be attractive without affecting layout.

Some parameter values actually support Comcode themselves. To use this, you will need to use the " escaping syntax described in the 'Tag syntax' section if you need to quote parameter values.

No tags really need parameters, except the 'jumping' or 'random' tags, where it makes no sense not to give them. Often giving parameters will greatly improve the usefulness of a tag: for example, without a 'param' parameter, the quote tag does virtually nothing except put something in a box.

Tag	Purpose	Parameters	Embeds
contents	Automatically generate a table of contents	files – a prefix for determining which files to get titles from to put into the contents (defaults to only searching the currently parsed Comcode) zone – the zone to search for pages if we are doing a file search (defaults to zone Comcode is executing in) levels – the maximum depth of title level to put in (defaults to all) base – the level to begin titling from	A comma separated list of CSS list style codes. Or nothing at all.
concepts	Show a concepts table and store the concepts so that the 'concept' tag may link to them from any other Comcode. This is a dangerous tag, only usable for those with permission.	X_key – concept name X_value – explanation Supports Comcode. where X may be any number, and there may be many X's.	The title of the concepts table.
concept	Show a concept, and if it is known, a link to the concept table that defines it.	/	Name of the concept.
list	Show a list (alternative to direct syntax). Don't use it, unless you are making use of the of 'param'.	param=1\|a\|i\| (defaults to blank, meaning a normal list) '1' means 'numeric list' 'a' means 'alphabetical list' 'i' means 'Roman numerals'	List elements, separated by [] (which is not a proper Comcode tag, as it has no [/] closing tag.
flash	Don't use it, it's only for compatibility.
indent	Indent.	param – indentation (defaults to 10)	Wrapped Comcode.
staff_note	A note available for any one who is viewing the Comcode source (usually, staff, validating a resource). It is a comment, and not ever rendered.	/	The note.
menu	Display a Comcode menu (not a menu editor style menu). This is a dangerous tag, only usable for those with permission (because it can confuse the layout and break menu expansion via conflicting name).	param – menu name type – menu type (defaults to tree, and only types available that have a template set for them)	The menu syntax.
cite	Make an inline citation.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
ins	Mark some text as inserted by a modification (this is intended to express meaning, rather than style).	/	Wrapped Comcode.
del	Mark some text as deleted by a modification.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
dfn	Mark some text as being a definition (this is intended to express meaning, rather than style).	/	Wrapped Comcode.
address	Mark some text as being an address (this is intended to express meaning, rather than style).	/	Wrapped Comcode.
abbr	Create a special abbreviation.	param – the full version	The abbreviation (i.e. short version).
b	Embolden.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
u	Underline.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
i	Italicise.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
s	Slash.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
sup	Make superscript (used in mathematics to 'raise to the power of', e.g. x²).	/	Wrapped Comcode.
sub	Make subscript (used in mathematics to 'distinguish variables', e.g. x₂).	/	Wrapped Comcode.
title	Show a title. Note that a level 1 title will automatically affect the title in the page title bar, for purposes of search engine optimisation.	param=1\|2\|3 – the level of title (i.e. the first title would be level 1, and sub-titles of that, level 2) sub – the sub-text of the title (only applies to level 1, in default templates) number – set to a comma separated list of list-style codes, as used by the contents tag: this will cause numbering to be placed before titles (defaults to no numbering, and a blank value may be used for default numbering) base – the minimum level this title will be numbered against (default 2)	Wrapped Comcode.
size	Change size. Short-hand for using 'font' with a 'size'.	param – a size number	Wrapped Comcode.
color	Change colour. Short-hand for using 'font' with a 'color'.	param – an HTML/CSS colour code	Wrapped Comcode.
highlight	Highlight text.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
font	Change font.	param – the font face name color – the colour size – the size	Wrapped Comcode.
tt	Show as teletyped. (Written like it was done on a typewriter, so as to make it stand out as something to type). Comcode in tt is not scanned for automatic link checking, amongst other things.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
internal_table	Equivalent to 'box' This is deprecated, please don't use it.	All of those for box.	Wrapped Comcode.
external_table	Equivalent to 'box' This is deprecated, please don't use it.	All of those for box.	Wrapped Comcode.
box	Show the wrapped Comcode inside an ocPortal 'standard box'. A standard box may or many not have a title. If you look at an ocPortal page, you will likely see around 10 standard boxes of various configuration: basically, boxed content. Some box types support 'meta' and 'link' content, that attach inside the box in a special way. These aren't supported in Comcode for security reasons, and the BOX tempcode directive must be used instead. It is rare that these would be wanted outside templates.	float=left\|right (defaults to right) breadth=WIDE\|THIN\|<number>px – the width of the standard box. WIDE ones take up all available space (although they won't push things out of the way to do it). This is deprecated, please use 'dimensions' instead. dimensions=width\|width"\|"height (default: 100%) – the width/heights are given in CSS units - examples: "100px", "100px\|50px" "100%\|50px". type=classic\|panel\|med\|curved\|light (default: classic) – these represent different templates (STANDARDBOX_type.tpl). options – \| separated options that different boxes may support (e.g. interlock). param – title. Supports Comcode.	Wrapped Comcode.
img	Place an image specified by URL.	align – CSS alignment code to show how the image aligns to other Comcode near it. param – the image mouse-over caption Supports Comcode.	The URL.
url	Place a link. Because this tag has the URL and text opposite to in BBCode, Comcode supports them to be reversed via auto-detection. Comcode does it differently as it is designed policy to make the embedded text the most critical piece, which is naturally the URL (doing it the other way favours wrapping, but many Comcode tags aren't wrapped anyway). Search engines are instructed not to follow links unless the Comcode maker has special permission to allow them to do it. This is a utilitarian act of participation between web developers and search engine developers to help massively disincentive spam-bots. Where possible, use the 'page' tag rather than the 'url' tag. It is much less sensitive to changes in ocPortal structure that would leave URLs broken.	param – the link text. Defaults to the link itself, but shortened. Supports Comcode. title – the tooltip. target=_blank\|_self (defaults to _blank for an external link). Links that open in a new window will be marked as doing so on mouse-over, for accessibility reasons.	The URL.
email	Place an e-mail link, with anti-spam obfuscation. Like the URL tag, the embedded text and caption may be switched around.	param – caption. Supports Comcode. title – the tooltip. subject – the default subject for the new email. body – the default body for the new email.	The e-mail address.
reference	Show a reference. This tag is rarely used, but is designed for citations.	type=url (URL is the only specific type at the moment – if it is not a URL, leave this parameter out) param – the reference title (only give if different from the reference code). Supports Comcode.	The reference code (e.g. “Webster's encyclopaedia”)
upload	Provide a link to an uploaded file. It is not recommended that you use this tag, as it was created before the attachment system existed and is very much inferior to it.	type – the uploads directory to link to a file in param – the link caption. Supports Comcode.	The file-name to link to.
page	Show a link to an ocPortal page. It is much preferable to use this rather than the 'url' tag, because it is more resistant to architectural changes (for example, if suddenly ocPortal was written in something other than PHP, URLs to index.php would no longer work, but page links would). This tag has two very distinct usage patterns, where parameters/embed-text are interpreted differently. If only a 'param' parameter and embed-text is given, then the embed-text becomes the caption, and 'param' becomes the page-name; the zone is wherever the page is located. The other usage pattern is as described formally here.	param – the zone the page is in caption – the link caption. Supports Comcode. Other parameters are actual parameters to place inside the URL. For instance 'type' and 'id' are likely to be used, as these are very commonly found in ocPortal URLs.	The page name
php	This is equivalent to using the 'code' tag with the 'param' parameter as 'php'. Note that it does not execute PHP code, it displays it nicely.	Those as for the 'code' tag, except 'param'.	The code to show.
codebox	This is equivalent to using the 'code' tag with the 'scroll' parameter as '1'.	Those as for the 'code' tag, except 'scroll'.	The code to show.
sql	This is equivalent to using the 'code' tag with the 'param' parameter as 'sql'. Note that it does not execute PHP code, it displays it nicely.	Those as for the 'code' tag, except 'param'.	The code to show.
code	This displays code, with possible syntax highlighting (depending on code type – at the time of writing only PHP supports this). Note that it does not execute code, it only displays it.	param – the language to highlight for: doesn't have to be supported, so you may be specific in case it is supported in the future scroll=0\|1 – whether to show the code in a nice scrollable box (defaults to 1 if the length exceeds 1000, otherwise defaults to 0)	The code to show.
hide	Hide some text such that it needs to be consciously expanded to see what it is. This is useful for giving warnings before viewing. For those without Javascript enabled, the text will be expanded by default.	param – the warning (defaults to a translated 'Expand' string). Supports Comcode.	Wrapped Comcode.
quote	Quote somebody. The quote is itself Comcode, rendered in a special box.	param – who/what is being quoted. If you are quoting a member use their literal username, in case this tag is ever expanded to make use of such data.	Wrapped Comcode.
block	Insert a dynamic block (described in the 'Advanced Custom Pages of Information (via Comcode)' tutorial. This is a dangerous tag, only usable for those with permission.	Whatever the block takes.	The block name.
semihtml	Treat the embedded text as freely mixed Comcode and HTML This is used by the WYSIWYG editor. This isn't a real Comcode tag, but actually a hint to the Comcode parser. This is a dangerous tag, only usable for those with permission.	/	Comcode and HTML mixed freely.
html	Treat the embedded text as HTML. This isn't a real Comcode tag, but actually a hint to the Comcode parser. This is a dangerous tag, only usable for those with permission.	/	HTML.
if_in_group	Only present the wrapped text if the current member is in one of the usergroups. This is a dangerous tag, only usable for those with permission (because it could be used to pass secret messages that moderators do not see).	param=comma separated list of usergroups (either ID's or names) type=\|primary\|secondary (if non blank limits to given group membership type)	Wrapped Comcode.
exp_thumb	Show a thumbnail to a special 'example' image. Intended for putting thumbnails into Comcode documents without using the attachment system (which relies on DB entries or exported documents).	float=left\|right (defaults to right)	The image code. The image is stored in data/images/<zone>/<code>.<ext> e.g. 'foo' would typically be 'data/images/docs/foo.png'.
exp_ref	Similar to exp_thumb, but shows a link rather than a thumbnail. Useful for putting a link in-line to the text to pinpoint what is also shown as a thumbnail.	param - The text to show (defaults to a translated 'Example' string)	The image code as with exp_thumb.
thumb	Show and cache an automatically generated thumbnail to a URL. The thumbnail width is that of the configuration options specification.	align – CSS alignment code to show how the image aligns to other Comcode near it. param – a local relative URL to a thumbnail to forcibly use. Normally this parameter would not be given. caption – a caption shown as a tooltip. float=left\|right – Float the tag to the left/right. Normally this parameter would not be given.	The URL.
attachment	Show an attachment. Normally you do not type this tag directly, but rather use the posting form's attachment functionality to have it added for you. You might also choose to copy&paste these automatically-made attachment tags. The one case where this would be typed directly is if you are creating an attachment from a URL. This is a rare case and should be avoided, as external URLs may cease to be valid over time. Downloading and then uploading the file is better. Note that the thumb tag provides similar functionality to using an image attachment by URL, and the url tag provides similar functionality to using a download attachment, and the flash tag, a flash attachment. Embedded attachments are also supported, but these are only created by and for use by Comcode pages. To create a Comcode page with embedded attachments you must use the export feature in the editor. Once an embedded attachment is found, it is extracted, and the Comcode is rewritten to reference the extracted file. This tag is tightly controlled for security.	description – description for the attachment, shown inside a box. Use '/' to say not to put an image in a box. Note that for new uploads, descriptions are addable in the attachment editor, and automatically moved them into the tag after form submission. Supports Comcode. filename – the file-name to have the attachment downloaded under. type=auto\|island\|inline\|download – what type of attachment display should be used (default is auto). For auto, ocPortal detects what the file is from file extension, and uses appropriate templates to tie to relevant HTML tags or plugins. width – width, if appropriate height – height, if appropriate align – alignment float=left\|right – Float the tag to the left/right. Normally this parameter would not be given.	This can be many things, and determined how the attachment works. If it is 'new_X' then ocPortal will look for an attached file to the posted form. If it is a number, it will tie to that numbered attachment. If it is 'url_URL' it will make an attachment from that URL. If it is something else, it will be interpreted as an encoded file.
align	Change the justification.	param=left\|center\|right	Wrapped Comcode.
left	The same as using 'align' with 'left'.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
center	The same as using 'align' with 'center'.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
tooltip	Display a tooltip over the wrapped Comcode. The tooltip should be not be used to display critical information when accessibility is required as it depends on Javascript being enabled.	param – The tooltip	Wrapped Comcode.
right	The same as using 'align' with 'right'.	/	Wrapped Comcode.
snapback	Link to a forum post. Don't use it, it's only for compatibility.	param – the title to give for the link forum – the forum to look in (unneeded for most forum drivers)	The ID of the forum post.
post	Link to a forum post.	param – the title to give for the link forum – the forum to look in (unneeded for most forum drivers)	The ID of the forum post.
thread	Link to a forum topic. Don't use it, it's only for compatibility.	param – the title to give for the link forum – the forum to look in (unneeded for most forum drivers)	The ID of the forum topic.
topic	Link to a forum topic.	param – the title to give for the link forum – the forum to look in (unneeded for most forum drivers)	The ID of the forum topic.
include	Include the full contents of a Comcode page at this point in the Comcode. It goes without saying (but we will!) that you should not create an include that includes the including Comcode page (a loop). This is a dangerous tag, only usable for those with permission.	param – the zone to include from (default is to search)	The Comcode page name.
random	Show a random choice from a number of possibilities. A random number is picked, and then it is linked to a string by what range it fits within. This is a dangerous tag, only usable for those with permission (because it could be used to hide things like random obscenities from staff).	X – the string to show if our random number is between our X and the next highest X. Supports Comcode. Where there may be any number of X's, which are all numbers. The first X should be 0 (zero).	The maximum value for our random number.
ticker	Show a scrolling marquee. You should not use this site on a page that is meant to meet accessibility guidelines.	param – the width in pixels speed – a multiplier for the default speed	Wrapped Comcode.
jumping	Jump between a number of strings. You should not use this site on a page that is meant to meet accessibility guidelines.	Any number of strings given any name (names are ignored, only values are used). Supports Comcode.	The number of milliseconds between jumps.
section	Define a 'page', for content spread across 'pages' (the term 'section' is used instead of 'page' to avoid terminology inconsistency within ocPortal).	param – the name of the section (required) default – set this to 1 if the section is the default section (otherwise leave it out, or set it to 0). There should only be one default section (or none), unless multiple sections should be opened initially.	Wrapped Comcode.
section_controller	Provides the interface to move between sections.		A comma-separated list of section names, which will be shown in the order given.

In addition, new tags may be created. This is discovered in the 'Advanced Comcode' tutorial.

Shortcuts

There are some short-cuts for use to use:

(c) for ©
(r) for ®
-- for –
--- for —

Symbols

For a list of symbols, see the 'Tempcode programming' tutorial. It is rare that you will want to include a symbol, and they are primarily designed for usage from Tempcode, our templating language.

Comcode Menus

ocPortal has had a dedicated menu editor since version 2.5. Before this, menus were written directly into Comcode rather than being tied to a menu-editor menu via a block. The old method of writing a 'Comcode menu' is still available though, and some users, especially those with disabilities, may prefer this method of menu generation.

The example in action

The menu Comcode tag is only intended for use in the Comcode pages. It is designed to be a user friendly way of defining what links are on your site, but it is important to be careful not to break the syntactic rules for the menu formation.
The menu tag takes a single parameter - the codename assigned to the menu. Each menu should be assigned a different codename, and you may just make one up as you write the Comcode.

The menu is only designed for organising links. You should not attempt to store other content in a Comcode menu tag.

Here is an example of a menu tag in action…

Code


[menu="some_codename"]
-contracted section
 +expanded section
  page = URL
  page = URL
+expanded section
 page = URL
 page = URL
[/menu]

Tip

You can put a '~' symbol (tilde, commonly known as 'that wiggly/twiddly symbol') before a URL if you want it to open in a new window.

Like the list syntax, the menu syntax specifies a tree structure, and uses indentation to do it. Things within a section, including the definition of sub-sections, are indented from the section start line itself.

The '-' means that a section is not expanded by default, whilst the '+' means that a section is. Those lines without a '+' or '-' are lines that are actually entries on the menu, and contain the caption of the entry, followed by " = ", followed the the URL of the entry.

Menu entries are typed so that their indentation is equal to the indentation of the start of the section's title. i.e. one further depth of indentation from the section's '+' or '-'.

Attachments

Adding an attachment

Editing an attachment

ocPortal has a powerful attachment system that is integrated into Comcode, with a number of content types support attachments, such as news articles and OCF forum posts.
Using them couldn't be easier: you just choose a file (or many files) from your computer, and ocPortal will automatically add an 'attachment' tag into the Comcode you are writing. You may then move that tag to any location you want, for placement of the actual attachment when the content is viewed. There is special built in support for in-line display of various media forms, and support of download of other types of file; any file can be added so long as the file type is in the allowed list of file types defined in the Admin Zone (see the security tutorial for a discussion on this).

Attachments may be given special captions, which are usually displayed as a part of the attachment box. If your attachment is an image and you don't want it placed in a box, use '/' as the caption text.
Images have automatically generated and cached thumbnails.

Important note

Be careful when placing attachment tags in a Comcode spot that does not support attachments natively. This is supported, but the attachment will be deleted if it's original content is deleted, as non-native Comcode spots have no way of recording that they have used it. In addition, if a viewer does not have access to the attachment's original content, they won't have access to your copy&pasted usage to a non-native Comcode spot.

If you go back to edit the content with your attachment, you will see that it has been given a number, whereas it as just marked as 'new' when being added. You may actually copy and paste the attachment tag into any other area of Comcode, so as to re-use the attachment. Anyone with permission to access any of the attachment supporting content locations that the attachment is placed in will be able to view/download it. The attachment will remain in the system until all content that using it is edited to stop using it, or deleted.

Concepts

Mark-up language: A language designed so that text may be laid out by surrounding special elements around portions of the text to define meta-properties (such as font)
Comcode: ocPortal's mark-up language for the creation of formatted text and inclusion of dynamic elements
Attachment: A file attached to Comcode via a 'posting page' supporting Comcode field; attachments have special support for rich media
Semi-HTML: HTML and Comcode mixed freely together
WYSIWYG: What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get: the name of the type of interactive editing interface used for formatting text in many programs, including modern word processors

ocPortal Tutorial: Comcode and the attachment system

Comcode Security

Syntax

Code

WYSIWYG

Emoticons

Table syntax

Code

Code

List syntax

Code

Tag syntax

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